Tuesday, October 1, 2013

The Return

Before I get into my blog, I have to tell you that the response to my upcoming fundraiser on Nov. 2 has been fantastic! Check out my Team Lenny event page on Facebook.
www.facebook.com/teamlennyvaljas  We have sold half the tickets in about a week!!! If you're in Toronto, hope to see you there!



Okay, Blog time:

Sometimes things just work out better than expected.
My recovery from knee surgery has taken much longer than anyone anticipated. Since July, I've had to do tons of physio for my knee and I've had to miss out on a lot of adventures this summer. not to mention cardio training. It was hard but I committed to do exactly what the therapists and doctors recommended and not rush the healing process. My amazing friends in Canmore have been very supportive and have helped me to remain positive.
Now, 12 weeks deep into recovery I am more ready than ever to get back training because I've done almost no cardio this entire time. In all honesty, this knee surgery and the time I had to take off to recover, could have been the best thing for my skiing! We will have to wait and see. I had a really fatiguing World Cup season last year and I could feel it's toll on me during our two early season camps, although my fitness was good I just felt exhausted and it's tough to have fun when you feel like that. I needed a break from training to let my body completely reset and start fresh and rested. The only way to do that is with forced rest, like an injury or surgery. As athletes it's very hard to rest, most athletes feel guilty taking extended periods of time off because they think their "competition" is training hard all the time. This is not the case, trust me. Without the proper rest you will not ski fast, period. I have always forced myself to rest both mentally and physically, but with this being an Olympic year I probably wouldn't have given myself the rest I needed after last season. That's why I'm so positive right now. I feel completely rested and ready to go. There is nothing wrong with taking a week off, completely, from training and doing whatever you feel like. I would ask your coach for permission first, they don't love it when athletes just go off the grid for a week unexpectedly, trust me haha. Anyways, this is getting too heavy... 

I started roller skiing this week, knee feels good and I am really looking forward to getting back to normal training with my teammates. 
We have our next training camp starting tomorrow, in California!! I cant wait to get reunited with the whole team again. 


First intensity session since surgery


I was going a little crazy doing the same physio routine in Canmore, I needed a change. I decided to head home for almost two weeks to see the entire family for the first time since November. 
My cottage is my happy place, when the whole family is together, there is no place I would rather be. 
bro, and sis... the best!
Austin making sure stina is ready for her next FIVB World Tour stop

stina kicked our butts... fairly expected 

2 please 

Austin on the boat, our cottage in the background. 

Lastly, I miss my truck. Had to sell "Betty" a few days ago since I'm off to Europe soon. 
She was the best, always getting me to physio on time. Also, commuting on a bike around town is tougher than it looks. I miss her more and more with every pedal stroke ;) 


Isn't she pretty?







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